On ‘Fox & Friends,’ Utah veteran who took photos of dirty hospital room says he’d like more choices in health care

The Utah Army veteran whose photos of a dirty treatment room spurred an apology from the Salt Lake City VA medical center told Fox News on Tuesday that he has to wait until 2019 for another appointment.

Christopher Wilson said he is supposed to have a six-month follow-up appointment for his feet and ankle issues at the clinic he has been attending, but he has been told the next available appointment is Feb. 7.

The host asked Wilson if he would prefer to receive treatment with “his own physician” if there were no additional charges to him.

“Choice would be very helpful,” Wilson replied. “It would take the strain off the VA system.”

The Veterans Administration has the Veterans Choice Program. It allows veterans to receive private-sector medical care if they meet a set of eligibility requirements such as the Veterans Administration being unable to provide appointments within 30 days of the needed date. Wilson didn’t state whether he has applied to the program. He did not immediately return messages from The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday.

My son is a Veteran of the United States Army. He went to the #VA in Salt Lake City yesterday. This was the condition of the room he was seen in. Very unprofessional, unsanitary and disrespectful. Please retweet. Maybe @realDonaldTrump will see it. pic.twitter.com/P4CMQeE74t

Photos of the dirty room, with an overflowing trash can and plaster on the sink, counter and floor, spread across Twitter over the weekend. Karen Gribbin, chief of staff for health care at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, called Wilson and apologized Saturday and apologized again at a news conference Monday. She said staff were focused on ending Wilson’s wait and didn’t notice the condition of the room.

(Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune) Karen Gribbin, chief of staff of Salt Lake City Veterans Administration Hospital, responds to photos of a dirty clinic room tweeted over the weekend by a veteran at a news conference Monday, April 30.

Wilson has questioned that, saying he noticed the state of the room immediately.